April 2017

April was a big (HUGE) month for us! It was wonderful! It was busy, busy, busy and ended with the addition of our sweet little Austin. Here is a picture recap... and there are a lot of pictures!

The Uhrich's visited my parents or a weekend. The kids love when their cousins come to town as you can tell from Ellie's face in this picture with Seth. 

Shoulder ride from Grandpa out to check on the chickens and horses.

Dan and I got a new king size bed. It is so nice and so comfortable. We always have kids crawling into bed with us in the wee hours of the morning so it is nice to have the extra room. As Dan said, "It sleeps five quite nicely!" The kids were just as excited about it as we were so we let them watch cartoons in it and Ellie knocked right out. 

Sunday stroll at Grandpa's pond to feed the ducks. 

More swimming with cousins. This time the May family cousins. It was so fun to see them. Our kids are always happy when the May's are around!

We also hosted the entire Rich side of the family for a family reunion for a few days. It was really fun. I was a little nervous that I was going to go into labor while they were here but we survived and had an awesome weekend together without incident. In this picture Ellie was going for a little ride with Grandpa around the neighborhood. The boys all brought their dirt bikes and went for a ride out by the sand dunes one morning.

We swam at my parents house a couple of times while they all were here. 

Checking out the horses.

The weather didn't really cooperate during the reunion like we would have liked it to. We planned a day at Sand Hallow to hang out at the beach while we took turns 4-wheeling on the sand dunes but when we got there the wind was blowing like crazy. And wind and sand and little kids don't mix too good so we left right after we got there. We were pulling the trailer with the 4-wheelers and got stuck in the sand big time. Luckily a good Samaritan happened to drive by and had all the equipment to pull us out.  

Reading buddies after a cold night of swimming.

Cason holding his new cousin Wes. Wes is Matt and Darcy's newest addition. He is the happiest baby ever and so so so cute. It was fun to finally get to meet him. 

Cason and Kami decided to have a sleep over one night. This picture also displays what early bedtimes look like in the summer. It's hard to put kids to bed when its still light out but its oh so worth it. 

Swimming with grandpa (or should I say hair styling). He is a good sport.  

Dinner at Cliffside with Grandma and Kami. 

Some of my friends from the ward had a little baby shower/luncheon for me early in the month. I didn't want to have a shower since this is my fourth baby but they wanted to celebrate the baby anyways so we settled on lunch at Main Street Cafe. I was a little hesitant about it but it turned out perfect and I had a lot of fun. 

Cute cookies to celebrate! 

Cason and Kami getting their teeth cleaned at the dentist. They LOVE the dentist! I can't blame them either, pediatric dentist offices are pretty cool these days. I am happy to report still no cavities for our family!

I really don't like being in pictures when I'm pregnant but I took one this day anyways because I want to always remember how much my kids love to be close to me. Sometimes I pretend like it drives me crazy that they always have to be touching me but I really like having them close by too. I loved how Cason sat right down next to me and put his arm around me. Its nice being a mom and getting to be favorite. 

We went on a bike ride/walk to the park one morning and as usual, Kami had to go to the bathroom as soon as we got there. There is a public bathroom on the other side of the park and she couldn't hold it enough to ride herself so Dan threw her on his shoulders and off they rode. It made me quite nervous, especially since she wasn't wearing her helmet, but she thought it was pretty fun. He is a good dad. 

Our good friends from when we lived in Saratoga Springs, the Hebdon's, were in town for the weekend so they stopped by to see us for the afternoon. We went swimming and had a barbecue at my parents house. It was so fun to catch up with them. Cason and their oldest daughter Kinley have been best friends since before they could walk. It was so cute to watch them pick up right where they left off. 

Easter was a huge hit at our house. This year camping chairs came with the kids Easter baskets and they thought they hit the jackpot!

Easter egg hunt in the back yard before church. 

On this night we had FHE in St. George. We had a picnic, rode the carousel, and went to the visitors center at the temple. It was a fun night!  

I am so grateful for temples and that Dan and I are sealed to this bunch for eternity! 

In other big news Cason lost his first tooth! Dan yanked it when he wasn't ready and out it popped. Cason started to cry until he saw it and then he was super excited. Pretty much all of the kids his age have lost teeth already so he was happy to join the club. 

So Cason also turned 7 this month! Where has the time gone? I was nervous to plan a birthday party for him since the baby was due only three days after her birthday. So the week before we invited a couple of his buddies to go to Jump On It with him. He thought it was a pretty awesome birthday party and I didn't have to do much planning so it was a win win. 

Kami is getting so brave in the water. She even jumped of the jumping rock which was a huge deal for her. I swam with her this day and she was so willing to try new things (not usually the case). She was even jumping off the side in the shallow end and swimming to the other side without her life jacket. She is a pretty good little swimmer but is still nervous so she just sticks to the shallow end. 

After we had the Rich family reunion I was more than ready for baby brother to get here. My mom was nice enough to go on lots of walks with me to try and induce labor. It didn't work, but we had lots of fun anyways. 

On April 26th our sweet little boy was born. The delivery went so smooth. We invited my mom to be there in the delivery room with us, which was a neat experience since it has only ever been me and Dan. She even cut the cord! I got an epidural,  so I wasn't in pain during labor and Dan and my mom and I were just hanging out having a great time when a nurse came in to check on the baby because his heart rate dropped a little. She was having a hard time getting a good gauge on it so she asked if she could check me and said "He's coming! I'll be right back, don't push!" We were all shocked because a different nurse had checked me less than an hour before and said I was only at a 4. Within a minute the whole room was filled with nurses and the doctor and before I knew it I was pushing. He got stuck for a bit and then popped right out! I was super nervous when I first saw him because he was bright purple. They were rubbing his back really hard and patting him trying to get him to cry. Finally he did and it was wonderful. He is perfect in every way. We were instantly in love with him.  

We didn't go to the hospital knowing what we were going to name him. As soon as he was born Dan mention he thought Austin might be a good name for him and when we talked to the kids on the phone after he was born we asked them what they thought we should name him and Cason said Austin! The next day we officially decided to name him Austin T Rich. We had a really hard time deciding on a middle name. Cason is named after Dan, and Kami and Ellie are named after our moms. We wanted to name Austin after our dads but we have two dads and only one baby. Then Dan had the idea to just give him the middle initial T, for Tom and Tony. I thought it was perfect. Austin is lucky to be named after two amazing men. 

Cason, Kami and Ellie stayed with my parents while we were at the hospital. Unfortunately, they were all sick the day he was born so when my parents brought them to meet him they weren't able to hold or touch him so this is the best picture we got of them with him. They were soooo excited to meet their baby brother anyways though. 

Grandma and Austin.

Grandpa and Austin.

He is a little angel! He weighed 7 lb 4 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long and was born at 2:16 pm. We feel so blessed to have him in our family. He is so loved. 

Going home! We left the hospital exactly 24 hours after he was born. He was doing great and I was feeling great so we decided to leave a little earlier than we did with the other kids. Plus we made it home to celebrate Cason's birthday with him at my parents house! What's a better present for a little boy than a baby brother! My parents were so awesome to take care of our sick kids for us and to celebrate most of Cason's birthday with him. They kept the big kids an extra night so we didn't have to worry about them getting Austin sick. Ellie had such a high fever that she just snuggled right up next to my mom both nights so I don't think my mom slept good, but it was night knowing she was in good hands since I couldn't be with her.

First night at home. He is a sleepy guy! 

The next day we wanted to give my parents a break from babysitting but were still worried about them getting Austin sick so Dan picked the kids up and dropped me and Austin off. We quarantined ourselves in my parents little guest apartment for the day.  It is equipped with a bed, couches and a tv so I could get some rest and have some privacy as Austin tried to figure out nursing. It was great, plus my mom brought me a cooler with drinks and basket of snacks! She is the best.  

It felt good to go home and finally be all together as a family. The kids were still a little sick so we just had them wear masks when they were close to Austin. Luckily Austin never did get sick. I on the other hand was not so lucky. I got their fever and their cough. It was pretty rough for a while. I had a fever for 10 days in a row so when Dan went back to work I had to try to balance life with four kids while being pretty darn sick. It wasn't ideal, but we survived. Luckily, Austin is a dream baby and isn't too much work at all. 

Ellie holding Austin for the first time. She calls him Austy Boy, it is pretty cute. She loves him! She did have a rough time splitting her mom time with him and started acting out big time. As Dan put it she was the one that was suffering from postpartum depression haha. One night when I picked him up to feed him she yelled, "NOT AGAIN!" Luckily as the weeks have passed she has adjusted and can't get enough of her little brother. 

Kami is an awesome big sister to Austin. She has been an awesome helper. She loves to hold him and snuggle him. She is always telling me that she loves Austin more than ______ (and says something that she loves like ice cream, Paw Patrol, riding bikes, etc.). Also, if I am busy doing something and Austin starts to fuss she tells me that Austin is more important that the dishes or brushing my teeth or eating or laundry or whatever it is I'm doing. She definitely looks out for him.  

It has been so fun for me to watch Cason with Austin. I knew he would love Austin but I didn't realize how much! He is awesome with him. He will do anything to help me take care of Austin and is so good with him. He can easily calm him down if he's crying and has even changed a few diapers. He tells me that he will always love Austin and I believe it! The two of them have already developed a sweet little bond. Cason has been a huge help to me. There are times when I ask him to stop doing something that he enjoys to hold Austin while I get something done and he never hesitates or complains. I am a lucky mom to have four such amazing kids. I can't wait to see what they all grow up to become. We may live in a state of chaos but I wouldn't have it any other way!